Dead Man's Hand
by Nroque18
Summary: The second piece of the map to El Dorado is waiting for Matt and his crew in Captain Blood's lair, but he's back from the dead and his ghost fleet is ravaging Haunted Skyway! To stop him, they'll have to learn his secret from Death himself, and break the curse on the doomed town of Miranda. The tenth installment of Pirate Legacy.
1. Chapter 1: Blasted Desperadoes

**Dead Man's Hand**

Chapter One Blasted Desperadoes

As the _Aquila _entered Haunted Skyway, my thoughts drifted to what Sly Winkum had told me in Tumbleweed before we left.

"_You've done your part, now I'll do mine. I'm not fond of recalling my pirate days. Blood was… a hard captain to serve." Sly Winkum said as we sat at the bar of the Desert Rose. _

"_Captain Blood's hideout was in the Haunted Skyway, in the old Motherlode Mine. You've dealt with the Wild Bunch, but there's another obstacle." _

"_What is it?" I asked, and Sly Winkum answered. "The hideout's entrance is locked, with just one key. It ended up with Blood's first mate, that Rat Sabatini who led the mutiny. Last I heard, he settled down at Fort McMurtry."_

"Land ho, Captain!" David Clutterbuck shouted, bringing me back to reality as he pointed to Fort McMurtry, built on a small island off the bow.

Within a few minutes, we had dropped anchor at the docks of Fort McMurtry without any trouble from the guards that were on duty, and the fort looked just about ready to fall down, and the dark skies and gloomy air didn't help it to look any less haunted, pardon the pun.

We walked down the gangplank and into the fort, and as we stepped inside past the guards, a voice said, "Wait a minute… Who let you in?"

We turned to see a gray Rooster dressed in a green army uniform, a colonel judging from the silver eagle stitched onto the shoulders of his jacket. The Rooster introduced himself as Colonel Church, and we gave him our names as well.

"My apologies, Captain Exeter, my men must've mistaken you for one of my message runners. I'm sure your business is urgent, but Fort McMurtry needs you, and now!" Colonel Church said.

"Listen here – these blasted ghost ships have taken the whole skyway, and threaten to overrun the fort! We can't take another assault. I need every ship that can fly to go out and engage those undead desperadoes. Keep them from massing so we have time to build our defenses."

"I hereby conscript you in the name of the army to defend the fort. Now move or I'll commandeer your ship out from under you!"

We left Fort McMurtry to sail out into Haunted Skyway, and as we caught sight of the ghost ships approaching the fort, a bell was rung on the quarterdeck. "Beat to quarters!"

I brought out my spyglass from the inside of my coat and handed it to Rena, who brought it up to her eye. "How many of them are there?"

"I count twelve sloops, Matt." Rena answered as she handed me back my spyglass. I nodded as I put it away, and both Clutterbuck brothers shouted, "We're ready to fire!"

"Give me everything you've got, full sail!" I shouted, and with the wind astern, or behind us, the _Aquila _charged towards the lead sloop, like a knight at the joust.

Richard Clutterbuck roared as the starboard broadside fired its guns at the sloop, sinking her and her crew of skeletons, and the sloop to our port side soon followed.

The remaining ten sloops fired their four-gun broadsides, and we ducked to avoid the hail of cannonballs, sparks, and splinters.

Reload and give them hell!" I heard the Clutterbuck brothers shout as we stood up, and I heaved on the pilot's wheel so the _Aquila _could turn to port to come about.

"Bonnie, take the sharpshooters up to the top!" I shouted, and the Fox nodded as she led the men armed with rifles in climbing up the rigging.

As the next sloop approached us on the starboard side, Bonnie and the sharpshooters began picking off the skeletal crew to buy time for the men reloading the guns.

The _Aquila_'s starboard broadside finally finished reloading, and she sunk the first sloop and another about to fire a broadside on us.

The swivel guns on the port side sunk another sloop with round shot, and the port broadside sunk two more sloops in a storm of cannonballs.

In a last throw of the dice, the four ghost ships moved in to ram us from the intermediate directions: northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest, but the _Aquila _sunk them in a raking fire maneuver, and we sailed back to Fort McMurtry to report back to Colonel Church.

As the dockworkers began the _Aquila_'s repairs, we walked inside the fort, where Colonel Church was waiting for us. "Well done. We're out of the woods… for a little while, anyway. Now, what brings you to this charming place?"

"What can you tell me about Sabatini? We were told he lived here." I asked, and Colonel Church answered. "Yes, he lives here, or rather lived here. He ran out of town about a week ago like his tail was on fire.

"I have no idea where Sabatini went, but I'll find out. You go help out Lieutenant Masterson, and I'll tell you when you get back."

I nodded my head. "Just tell me where to find Lieutenant Masterson, and we'll be on our way, sir."

**A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short, you guys. Even with two quests combined…**


	2. Chapter 2: Flown the Coop

**Dead Man's Hand**

Chapter Two Flown the Coop

"First, an army of the dead attacks us and nearly takes the town, now we have a jail break!" Lieutenant Jim Masterson said as we stood in front of the local jail outside of Fort McMurtry. He was a vampire from Darkmoor, and judging from his surname, was a relative of Bat's.

"The prisoners are gone – all of them! In all the chaos in the last raid, they busted their way out of the stockade. There are dangerous men on the loose! I'm deputizing you here and now to set this right. Go ask the civilians and the troops if they saw anyone suspicious."

While the others went to help with the _Aquila_'s repairs, Rena and I asked around town for any sign of the prisoners. Our first informant was a Rooster in a private's uniform by the name of Gallo, who was just finishing his patrol through town.

"During that last attack, we were pinned down inside the general store, and I saw someone slinking around outside – weasel-looking fellow." Private Gallo said. "He was running for the west gate, and I saw him scramble across the stone arch toward the old gorge and the abandoned mine shaft."

"I called out to him, but he kept right on going. Thought I was crazy – who would run out _into _those horrible ghost ships?"

We gave him a silver coin for his trouble, and we soon found another person who was willing to talk for a small fee, a disgruntled steamboat captainby the name of Bill Mallard.

"Have I seen anyone suspicious? You mean other than the cantankerous cadavers? Turns out I have. I was racing to the fort when he came at me – he was huge!" The Duck said.

"Biggest Bison I've ever seen! His fur was as black as midnight. He laid me low with one punch, then jumped in my boat and lit out like lightning. So are you going to get my boat back?"

Tossing him a silver coin, Rena and I walked back to the jail to report back to Lieutenant Masterson. "Good work; it's a start at least. When we find them, I hope there's a stockade left to put them in!"

"The weasel man you caught word of – his name is Weasley Jenkins – thief, gambler, and notorious cheat. Your tip bore fruit: my scouts tell me someone is hiding in the old mine shaft near town. I can't spare the men to round him up – it falls to you."

Lieutenant Masterson pointed us to the mine shaft, and we climbed up the ridges overlooking the town to the abandoned mine shaft. Handing one of my pistols to Rena, we entered the mine shaft to find a Weasel wearing a black-and-white striped prison uniform hiding inside near the entrance.

"You're under arrest"! Rena said as we pointed our pistols at Weasley Jenkins, who put his hands up. "Alright, alright, you got me! I'll come quietly – jail looks a lot better than the horrible things I've seen wandering around here at night!"

Seizing Weasley Jenkins by his wrists, we dragged him to Lieutenant Masterson, who properly clapped him in iron handcuffs. "I'll send Weasley Jenkins to the captain so he can be dealt with. This puts us one step closer to recovery."

"The other prisoner you heard rumor of, there's no mistaking him: Crazy Horn, a Black Storm Bison. So savage, his own murderous tribe threw him out. He's wanted for everything they have a law for, including but not limited to: arson, murder, and jaywalking."

Rena and I both stifled laughs as Lieutenant Masterson continued. "There's only one place he wants to go – Big Sky Country. You've got to head him off at the pass.

"There's a vortex near the gateway to Tumbleweed – my wager is that he's hiding in there, waiting to make a break for it. If you hurry, you'll get him!"

Rena and I returned to the dockyard of Fort McMurtry, where a pleasant surprise awaited us: not only was the _Aquila _repaired, she had been fitted with all of the fort's extra cannons, filling out all sixty of her gun ports to make her firepower equal to that of a third-rate ship-of-the-line.

I had noticed the extra gun ports, but even I was surprised at the number at the number of guns that a heavy frigate like the _Aquila _could carry, and Jack took the time to explain. "The _Aquila _was built to be fast and strong, and I have to admit that the shipwright really knew what he was doing…"

"Set course for the Comanchero Vortex." Rena said to me as we stood the helm, and I nodded as the _Aquila_'s sails were unfurled so she could sail out of the harbor. With the wind blowing astern of the _Aquila_, we sailed south to the vortex.

"Batten down the hatches, men!" I shouted, and the men assigned to the guns on the _Aquila_'s two dedicated gun decks went down below while the men assigned to the guns on the weather decks tied themselves down onto the railings.

Ducking down as we passed through the winds of the vortex, we saw a steamboat off the bow, crewed by Black Storm raiders, and one of them wore the feathered headdress of a chief.

"Only a Claw Foot or a fool would follow Crazy Horn into this vortex. You should have stayed in the Claw Foot fort." Their leader with the feathered headdress shouted.

"Prepare to board!" I shouted as I drew one of my swords, and the men shouted their agreement on the weather deck. "The ship is yours, Rena!"

Letting go of the pilot's wheel, I went down the stairs to join the boarding party that was being assembled on the quarterdeck, and I led the men in leaping aboard Crazy Horn's steamboat.

Firing my pistol to stun a raider about to attack one of my men from behind, my sword clanged against the edge of a tomahawk. Shoving my pistol into its holster, I gripped my sword with two hands to better support it against the raider's brute strength.

I then kicked the raider in between the legs, and as he bent over from the pain, I slammed the hilt of my sword into his head, knocking him out.

Drawing my other sword, I took on another raider, and as he swiped his tomahawks at me, I blunted my swords with blue energy as I dodged, and I finally knocked him off balance with a hard jab to his exposed shoulder.

As the raider stumbled backwards, I leapt forward to punch him in the face with the metal knuckle guard of my sword, knocking him out.

The air was becoming hazy from battle fever and the smoke pouring out of the gun barrels of my men, and I coughed as I tried to make my way towards the sounds of the fighting, but it was coming from all around me, so I stumbled aimlessly until the smoke cleared enough for me to see.

Amidst the bodies of his unconscious crew, Crazy Horn was being held at gunpoint by several muskets, and he held up his hands in surrender. "I stole ships, burned farms, and rustled Buffaloon – until today, I have never surrendered. Take me back to the fort. I am done."

We clapped Crazy Horn in irons and put him in the brig, and before leaving the Comanchero Vortex, we destroyed the paddle wheels of the steamboat to prevent his crew's escape.

Sailing north back to Fort McMurtry, we dropped anchor and returned to Lieutenant Masterson at the town jail, with Crazy Horn in tow.

"It looks like Crazy Horn won't be returning to his village after all. I'm impressed by your vigor, sailors, and your spirit. Well done!" Lieutenant Masterson said as two of his men took Crazy Horn away. Then Lieutenant Masterson grew serious, and he spoke again.

"I've also learned how the prisoners managed to escape. The men you helped catch revealed who was behind this plot."


	3. Chapter 3: The Ringleader

**Dead Man's Hand**

Chapter Three The Ringleader

"Captain Foote was a model officer until the War ended. Something in him couldn't handle losing, and he went badly. Now he's worse than a criminal." Lieutenant Masterson said as we stood outside the town jail.

"If I were Foote, I'd hide in the old Hang 'Em jail, in the Dusty Vortex – I bet he's there. Go find him and stop him." Lieutenant Masterson said. We nodded as we left for the _Aquila _to set sail east to the Dusty Vortex on the other end of the skyway.

"Batten down the hatches, men!" I shouted, and the men assigned to the guns on the Aquila's two dedicated gun decks went down below while the men assigned to the guns on the weather decks tied themselves down onto the railings.

Ducking down as we passed through the winds of the vortex, we saw the old jailhouse in the eye of the storm. As we drew closer to the docks, renegade Chicken soldiers fired their rifles at us from behind the cover of flour sack piles.

"Starboard battery, fire all guns!" I shouted, and the starboard broadside fired all thirty of their guns, scattering the renegades.

As we drew to a stop next to the dock, my trusted associates and I leapt off the _Aquila_'s railings onto the dock. "David, Richard, keep them busy! We'll go after Foote!"

Keeping our heads down, we hurried to the cellblock, and once inside, we ran past two rows of cells to the stairs, where a Chicken dressed in a gray captain's uniform stood amongst more renegade soldiers.

"Did Masterson send you?" Captain Foote asked, and as we slowly nodded, Captain Foote said angrily, "That coward! He never fought his own battles. And he's insulted me by sending such puny little runts. Defend yourselves!"

We leapt out of the way of the renegades' rifles, and I rolled onto the floor to break my fall before drawing my pistols and returning fire.

Bonnie fired her new rifle, and a renegade soldier fell over from the force of the blast. Ratbeard fired his pistol, and another renegade fell down.

Captain Foote led his men in a charge with their bayonets, and as the cracks of gunfire went off, I got hit in the shoulder but managed to do the same to one of Foote's renegades.

The battle was now at close quarters, and holstering my pistols, I drew my swords to engage them. Deflecting a bayonet to my left, I lunged forward with a sword blunted by blue energy and hit the attacking renegade in the stomach.

The renegade bent over in pain as I knocked him out with the hilt of my sword, and I was nearly skewered by Captain Foote's bayonet from the side. Had he had just aimed his thrust an inch to the right, his bayonet would've passed through my ribs.

I spun around and slammed my left sword into Captain's Foote's hat, knocking it off. He then kicked me down onto the floor, and I just barely deflected his bayonet thrust to the side of my head.

I kicked him hard in the stomach, and Captain Foote was sent reeling backwards right into Rena's pistol. "Thanks, Rena."

Rena smiled at me as she held up her smoking pistol, and the remaining renegades were rapidly routed by the others. A voice then said, "We meet again, pirates. Next time I run afoul of some vile marauders, I'll be expecting you to fight your way in!"

Standing inside a large cage was Corporal Sanders, a soldier we had founded inside the Red Sashes' hideout, Hidden Valley Ranch. Rena brought out her lock-picking set, and soon Corporal Sanders was free of his cage.

"This war goes on and on and the price gets even higher. I am adrift in the sky and want this to end. This was my final battle." Captain Foote said as he came to, and we dragged him away to the _Aquila_'s brig so we could take him back to Fort McMurtry.

"You've got one more prisoner for the stockade, eh? Good!" Lieutenant Masterson said as Corporal Sanders and another soldier took Captain Foote away to his old cell. "Colonel Church sent you, am I right? Go tell him your work here is done, and done well."

"You've taken a load off of my shoulders, young pirates. I will rest easy. Until the ghost ships return that is." Lieutenant Masterson added, and we said goodbye as we reported back to Colonel Church inside the fort, which had been repaired recently.

"You helped Masterson sort things out? Outstanding! While you were away, I learned a thing or two about Sabatini." Colonel Church said as we approached him, and I asked him, "So what can you tell us about Sabatini?"


	4. Chapter 4: Secret Hideaway

**Dead Man's Hand**

Chapter Four: Secret Hideaway

"As soon as the ghost ships appeared, he ran all over town yammering something about the end of the world and holy ground. Then he was gone." Colonel Church said as we stood in the war room of Fort McMurtry, which had a large map of Haunted Skyway on the wall.

"There's an old abandoned church a ways from here. Rumor is that's where Sabatini is hold up. That's where I'd look for him." Colonel Church said as he pointed to the church on the map with a yardstick, and it was located on a small island in the middle of the skyway.

"Thank you for the information, sir." I said, nodding as I left for the _Aquila_. Within half an hour, the _Aquila _had already raised anchor to set sail towards the church.

No ghost ships attacked us as we went underway, and we soon dropped anchor at the dock in front of the old church, built of stone in a Gothic style of architecture.

My trusted associates and I drew our weapons as we walked to the wooden double doors of the church from the _Aquila_, her starboard battery ready to bombard the church with round shot should it become necessary.

We opened the doors of the church to find a Rat wearing a purple bandana, a dark waistcoat over a shirt, and purple trousers surrounded by skeletal pirates, led by a tall skeleton dressed in a maroon two-cornered hat and overcoat, and he had a hook for a left hand.

Sabatini had put up a good fight, evidential by the number of bones and broken pews scattered all over the room, but he was outnumbered, and he knew it.

"No! Stay back!" The Rat, Sabatini said as he brandished his dagger in front of the unfazed skeletal pirates, and their leader, the tall skeleton stepped forward.

"You verminous traitor, you thought you could spark a mutiny against ME and live? We made a pact, Sabatini. You owe me a debt. And Death, too." The tall skeleton answered angrily as he pointed his cutlass at Sabatini.

"No!" Sabatini said, and then he noticed me standing in front of the others at the doors of the church. "You there, pirate! You can stop this monster! The cards! Look to the cards!"

"Silence, you wretch!" The tall skeleton shouted, whom I now recognized from a photograph the historian Argleston had shown me as Captain Barnabus Blood, but Sabatini shouted, "The cards! Go to the sisters, on Isla de los Muertos! The cards..."

"Enough!" Captain Blood said as he swiped the air between him and Sabatini with his cutlass, and the Rat let out a cry of pain as he disappeared in a flash of black smoke.

Captain Blood then turned to face me, and instead of eyes, he had glowing blue balls of flame. "So, little one, you dare call yourself a pirate? Take them, lads!"

As his skeletal crew moved in front of him, Captain Blood disappeared in a flash of black smoke like Sabatini, and we ran to face his crew.

"Hey, did you stink like that even when you were alive?" I taunted, and the skeleton responded with an enraged swipe of his sword that missed me by a mile, leaving him open to my pistol.

As my opponent crumpled onto the floor, I kicked the resulting pile of bones to scatter them, and I even managed to brain another skeletal pirate with a leg bone just as he was about to finish off Rena, allowing her to get up and quickly decapitate the skeleton.

Bonnie aimed her new sniper rifle and fired, blasting a skeleton's skull clean off his shoulders, and Emmett delivered a double headshot to another skeleton with his pistols.

Jack thrust his sword forward into the eye of another skeletal pirate, and speaking of eyes, Old Scratch used the Eye of the Serpent to slice off the sword hand of his opponent, and as he clutched at his eye in pain, Ratbeard stepped in to finish the last skeleton off with his cutlass.

"The fiend's gone! We'd best get to these sisters Sabatini was talking about." Bonnie said as we regrouped in the middle of the church, and we returned to the _Aquila _to set sail to the east end of Haunted Skyway, where it connected to the skyway of Santo Pollo.

In the northeast end of the skyway was the Isla de los Muertos, the place where my trusted associates met Sister Snake on our vision quest.

It was getting dark as we dropped anchor at the docks, and near the shore were three Mustang gypsies sitting around a campfire near a covered wagon, and they wore brightly colored bandanas, white blouses, and frilled skirts.

The Mustang gypsy dressed in emerald green stood up as we slowly approached them, and she looked at me with piercing gray eyes. "I am Madame Esmeralda, and we welcome you to our humble camp, travelers. My sisters and I have been expecting you, young Matthew..."


	5. Chapter 5: The Shadow of Death

**Dead Man's Hand**

Chapter Five: The Shadow of Death

A few minutes later, Madame Esmeralda and I were sitting across from each other inside the covered wagon, separated by a small round table covered with a woven cloth that draped over the sides.

"You come seeking answers. The cards will give them to me, and I shall interpret their message. Ask your question, and the reading can begin." Madame Esmeralda said as she brought out a deck of tarot cards and shuffled them.

"Here's my question: where can I find Captain Blood's key?" I asked, and Madame Esmeralda nodded as she set three cards down in front of me, and flipped the one to the left.

The tarot card was upside down, and it depicted a blindfolded angel with wings outstretched, wearing an orange robe while holding up a curved sickle in her left hand and a set of scales in her right.

"The first card represents the past, source of the present and key to the future. Here is Judgment, the card of laws, rules, and pacts." Madame Esmeralda said.

"The card is reversed - deception, betrayal, mutiny. These are the sources of all the obstacles that face you now. You must set things right." Madame Esmeralda said, and she then flipped over the card in the middle.

The tarot card depicted a skeletal pirate standing on a beach, with a hook for a left hand and a cutlass in his right, with the sun in the corner, something my art tutor from when I was twelve would've disapproved of.

"The second card is the present, the challenge confronting you. Here is the Drowned Mariner: Captain Blood, the pirate who lives beyond death." Madame Esmeralda said.

"Here is the answer to the question: Captain Blood has taken the key you seek. How can you take it from him? The cards shall tell us." Madame Esmeralda said, and then she flipped over the third and final card on the right.

The tarot card depicted a figure with purple wings and skeletal hands dressed in a black robe, the hood shadowing his face. One of the hands held a long scythe, its blade in front of the moon in the corner of the starry background, again something my art tutor would've disapproved of.

"The last card is the future, which reveals the solution to the present challenge. Here is a dark card, the wraith who is Death." Madame Esmeralda said. "Death was the dark master Captain Blood cheated. Death is the source of the pirate's power. Death himself will show you the way."

"You may delay all you like, but you cannot escape your fate. Death lies before you, and is the key to your future. Find him!"

I nodded as I got up from my stool to head outside back to the _Aquila_, and I passed by the blindfolded "mess cooks" calling out names for the portions to be served to.

Entering my quarters, I found my trusted associates sitting around the table, leaving the head open for me. As I sat down to my meal, I told the others about my reading with Madame Esmeralda.

"Death? Him be a hard one to treat with." Old Scratch said as he swallowed a bite. For some reason, he still needed to eat and go to the bathroom like the rest of us, and the food somehow disappeared as it fell down his mouth.

"But how do we call him?" I asked, and Old Scratch answered. "The ravens be Death's servants - them birds know. Feed them corn, and they will say."

"Corn? Ought t'be easy enough to find. Let's go to Santo Pollo and look in the marketplace." Ratbeard said. As the others left my quarters after dinner, I lied down on my bed and tried to fall asleep, but I couldn't, and after an hour or so, I finally fell into a troubled sleep.

The next morning, the sun was shining through the windows at the stern of the _Aquila _as I woke up, and then there was a knock at my door. "Come in."

The door opened to reveal Rena, and she said with a smile, "Glad you're awake, sleepyhead. We've just dropped anchor at Santo Pollo."

"Wait, what time is it?" I asked, and Rena answered, "It's seven in the morning."

"What?! How did I oversleep?!" I cried as I jumped out of bed to put on my coat and weapons. We walked down the gangplank together down to the docks of Santo Pollo, and we soon found a Mustang woman named Rosita Rodriguez selling dried corn at her stall.

"Wait, I know you! You helped El Toro defeat El Guapo! Take as much as you like!" Rosita Rodriguez said as she thrust the dried cobs into our hands.

As the men brought the sacks of dried corn aboard the _Aquila_, I paid Rosita Rodriguez for them before boarding the _Aquila _to set sail back to Isla de los Muertos.

After we had dropped anchor at Isla de los Muetros, Old Scratch led us to a dead barren tree, whose branches were filled with black ravens cawing at us.

"Here's the corn, Cap'n - feed the birds!" Bonnie said as she handed me a dried cob of corn. Clawing off a handful of kernels, I tossed them at the roots of the tree, and the ravens swooped down to eat. "Bart! Black! Black! Bart! Black! Black!"

"What's that mean? We need to ask the fortunetellers." Bonnie said. Luckily, the gypsies hadn't left their camp, and one of them wearing purple and red went to greet us and introduce herself as Madame Nadya.

"What can you tell us about Black Bart?" I asked, and Madame Nadya nodded. "Black Bart. Of course. To call Death, you must offer something he wants. There is a vile killer who has offended Death. Black Bart is his name."

"He led a group of pilgrims from Santo Pollo to the Haunted Skyway, but betrayed them and scattered their spirits to the winds. Gather the lost spirits in Haunted Skyway and take to the graveyard of the old church. Death will find you."

With that, Madame Nadya turned back to her work, and we boarded the _Aquila _to set sail east to Haunted Skyway. As Old Scratch and I stood on the quarterdeck, I asked him, "So how are we supposed to gather the lost spirits?"

"I and I will take care of that, Captain my captain." Old Scratch said as he waved his staff, its tip glowing with purple energy. Scanning the horizon with my spyglass, I spotted something like a glowing green fireball in the shape of a skull hurtling towards the _Aquila_.

The men manning the cannon in front of us ducked as the lost spirit struck the tip of Old Scratch's staff, and as Old Scratch held the wood of his staff up to where his ear would be, I heard the faintest of whispers. "Eleven more..."

We continued to gather the lost spirits as we made our way across the skyway, and by the time we reached the old church, we had collected all twelve.

My trusted associates and I walked down the gangplank to the dock as we dropped anchor at the old church, and we walked to the graveyard, filled with stone tombstones.

"Beware, oh my Captain. De wind whispers, and the shadows rise. Death be near." Old Scratch said as he held his staff, glowing green at the tip with the lost spirits.

A skeletal pirate wearing a black two-cornered hat and dark trousers and boots then stepped out from behind an obelisk, and he was missing his left hand and right eye.

"You there! Them spirits is mine! I took 'em fair and square! Now you give 'em back, or I'm gonna take 'em." The skeletal pirate, presumably Black Bart said as he drew a golden cutlass from a scabbard to his left.

"Over my dead body!" I said as I drew my own sword and pistol, and as skeletal hands erupted from the graves around us, I took on Black Bart.

Black Bart proved to be a dirty fighter in our very short battle, as his first and final move was to kick me in between the legs, hard. I cried in pain as I fell backwards onto the dusty ground, and Black Bart loomed over me with his cutlass held high.

As I aimed my pistol, I noticed that the shadows seemed to be pulling towards each other, and they rose to form a figure in a black cloak, holding a scythe in his skeletal hands like an executioner at a beheading. "Black Bart. We have unfinished business."

Black Bart nervously turned around, and he stumbled backwards away from the figure as he cowered in fear, trying to shield himself with his bony arms. "Oh no. No!"

With one gesture from the figure, Black Bart disappeared in a flash of black smoke, as did his crew of skeletons who were fighting my own, and I said, "Well, that was anticlimactic."

The figure then put down his hood to reveal a bespectacled skull with glowing red eyes. "There, that's done. Now, onto other business."

"I really do hate having to appear like this, in such a tiresome manifestation. Still, rather expected of one, I suppose." The figure that could only be Death said.

"I know what you want, and why. You need to defeat Captain Blood, who cannot be harmed. It's all very bothersome. You need the cards. I shall explain."

Death then snapped his fingers, making the ground tremble slightly as short, flat-topped obelisks erupted from the ground, and he gestured for us to sit as he began his story.

"I don't WHY Captain Blood wants to live forever. His life was never that great in the first place: all that violence and pillaging... Hardly seems worth the trouble."

"But he was - is - rather obsessed with immortality. And so on his death bed, he challenged me to a friendly game of cards."

"Wait, why would you _willingly_ gamble with the most bloodthirsty pirate captain in history, who you know is obsessed with immortality?" Rena spoke up, and if looks could kill, Rena would've died a most gruesome death.

"Yes, I know. I have a gambling problem. I'm getting help, alright?" Death said, but Rena just had to get the last word, even in the face of a wicked-looking scythe. "Then your therapist didn't really do a good job with you."

"Look, I don't have to answer to you. It really is none of your business." Death said, annoyed. "Anyway, there we were, playing cards. In the final hand, Blood raised the stakes and bet me his soul. I had him, and that's when he cheated."

"I played my cards, but Blood went to the bathroom and never came back. And he took his cards with him! So here we are, stuck in limbo."

"I can't collect Blood's soul, because I haven't won the game. But I can't win the game, because the game can't end - Blood's hand remains unplayed. He hasn't lost yet, you see. Very clever."

"It was a dreadful loophole, and of course, I've had the rules changed, but I'm afraid it doesn't apply retroactively. Captain Blood is stuck between life and death, and I can't touch him. He cannot be killed - or even harmed, really - until our game is over."

"Captain Blood's cards must be played, by his own hand, on the table where my cards are still waiting. I know. It's all dreadfully improbable. Yes, yes, I know, he's made me look quite the fool. Look, I didn't ask you to do this. You called me."

"If you want to find your precious map, you need the key to Captain Blood's treasure. The only way to get that key is to pry it from his dead fingers."

"So, good luck with that. Call me when you've convinced Blood to put his cards on the table. I'm sure you'll think of something." Death said, and he disappeared in a flash of black smoke.

"An' how do we find these cards? Who knows where they might be!" Bonnie cried, and Ratbeard spoke up. "A member o' Blood's crew would know. Sly Winkum was in Blood's crew... Let's see what he can tell us."

I nodded as I stood up from the obelisk I was sitting on. "Then we'll set course for Tumbleweed straightaway. Let's be about it."

**A/N: I know that Judgment and Death are two of the twenty-two tarot cards, but ****the Drowned Mariner isn't. C**an anyone tell me what the card closest to it would be? Much appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6: Blood's Own Hand

Dead Man's Hand

**Chapter Six**

**Blood's Own Hand**

"Well well, we meet again. What can I do for you today?" Sly Winkum asked as we sat down at a table inside the Desert Rose, Tumbleweed's local saloon.

From our seats, we could look out the window to see Timmy practice his shooting with Calamity Jane Canary and Wild Bill Peacock.

I smiled as I saw Wyatt Chirp's badge gleam on Timmy's chest in the bright sunlight, and then I resumed my neutral expression as I turned to face Sly Winkum. "What can you tell me about Blood's hand of cards in his game with Death?"

As Sly Winkum looked at me in confusion, I then recounted Death's tale to him, and when I finished, he nodded in understanding. "Now that is quite a story. If I hadn't seen Blood play that game, I'd call you crazy. But I remember it too well."

"Do you know where the cards are?" I asked, and Sly Winkum nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I know where they are. But even if you had them, there's no way you'll get Blood to play them. Unless..."

"Unless what?" I asked, and Sly Winkum answered. "By his own hand. Not played by _him_, but by his _hand_. You know, Captain Blood lost a hand. El Toro cut it off in a duel."

"I don't know where it happened, but El Toro might. Tell you what, if that hand is still out there, it'll let you finish that game once and for all."

Bonnie, who had been sitting at the table closest to us, spoke up. "Back to Santo Pollo we go. Don Rodrigo will be eager to hear about all this, know what I mean?"

I nodded as I stood up to leave for the _Aquila_, as did the rest of my trusted associates. "Then let's be about it. Set course for Santo Pollo!"

We boarded the _Aquila _to set sail to Santo Pollo through Haunted Skyway, and an hour later, we had dropped anchor at our destination.

Walking up to the doors of the De La Vega Manor, we were greeted warmly by Don Rodrigo, also known as the masked hero named El Toro. "Welcome back again, my good friends! It seems a hero's work is never done, eh? What can I do for you?"

A few minutes later, we were inside the dining room of the De La Vega Manor, our tea poured by Don Rodrigo's wife Carolina, also known as the pirate named Mustang Sally.

"Captain Blood? Oh yes, El- I mean, my mentor, Don Rafael told me the tale. El Toro and Captain Blood fought on a cliff, high over Gold Creek." Don Rodrigo said.

"El Toro cut off the pirate's hand, and it fell along with his sword into the lake high above the creek. Why do you ask?"

"Because Captain Blood isn't dead - he cheated Death in a game of cards." I answered, and Don Rodrigo gasped. "What? The greatest evil Santo Pollo has ever known... is back? You will not fight alone - El Toro shall join you! For justice!"

"Fear not, my love! I will defend the people of Santo Pollo while you accompany Matthew and his crew on their quest." Carolina said, drawing her sword like a viper to prove her point, and Don Rodrigo nodded.

In less than an hour, Don Rodrigo was prepared to join our crew as El Toro, and he shared a goodbye kiss with Carolina at the doors of the De La Vega Manor before we left for the _Aquila_.

We sailed through Cooper's Roost Skyway to Gold Creek in Big Sky Country, where my trusted associates, now including El Toro, and I walked up the trail to the lake.

"You must hold your breath while you search. Swim swiftly like the salmon, or you will drown." El Toro advised me as we stood atop the docks, and I answered dryly with, "Well thank you."

Stripping down to just my trousers, I thought I saw Rena blush a little before I dove into the lake, a spare chain shot used as makeshift weights to pull me down faster.

Armed with a harpoon given to me by one of the crewmen aboard the _Aquila_, I swam across the lake, the fish scattering as I came close to them.

I soon found Captain Blood's hand partially submerged in the lakebed, its exposed fingers the only clue to its location amongst the kelp.

Grabbing Captain Blood's hand by its fingers, I held it by the wrist as I resurfaced from my dive, my lungs gasping for air as I climbed back onto the dock and flopped onto my back, holding Captain Blood's hand up like trophy.

It was lunchtime, and during my little swim, Jack had managed to catch a large bass, and it supplemented the bread, dried peas, and salt pork we had brought along for our lunch.

I had dried off completely by the time we all finished our food, and I said, "Now that lunchtime is over, let's be about meeting back up with Sly Winkum in Tumbleweed."

We returned to the _Aquila _to set sail for Tumbleweed in the northeast, and Sly Winkum looked up from his drink as we entered the Desert Rose with Captain Blood's hand. "You found the hand? I am impressed. Now to find the captain's cards."

**A/N: Sorry that it's been awhile since the last update. I took a ten-hour flight to the Philippines to spend the summer with my extended family, and then I couldn't get the password to the local network. Also, the only battle in this quest couldn't really be done realistically without Matt drowning, so I'm sorry for the lack of action in this chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7: Last Call

**Dead Man's Hand **

**Chapter Seven**

**Last Call**

"Miranda. The ghost town where Captain Blood played his game with Death. That's where the cards are." Sly Winkum said as we sat at the bar of the Desert Rose.

"Sabatini tried to destroy Blood's cards during his mutiny, but they ended up scattered all over the town in the confusion."

"Beware, Matthew. Miranda is a terrible place. When Blood cheated Death... terrible things happened. The place is cursed - watch yourself."

"Thank you, I will." I said as I stood up to leave, leaving some money and an empty glass on the counter for the bartender.

Within the hour, the _Aquila _was ready to set sail for Miranda in Haunted Skyway, and we soon dropped anchor at the docks of the ghost town.

I shivered from the cold touch of death on Miranda as I stepped off the gangplank onto the dock, and I turned to address the two gunnery officers, David and Richard Clutterbuck. "If we're not back within an hour, take the others back to Skull Island and leave a rowboat for us."

The two brothers reluctantly nodded, and my trusted associates and I walked into the ghost town. As we stepped onto Main Street, blue mist seeped out from cracks in the dusty ground, and it took the form of a ghost standing in front of us.

The ghost took the form of a teenage Chicken wearing a fancy dress, so she probably came from one of the wealthier families that lived here long ago, and she introduced herself as Annabelle.

"Oh Captain, thank heaven you've come along! Do you have a ship? Something terrible is happening, and I need transportation away from here at once!" Annabelle said.

"We do, but where are Blood's cards?" I asked gently, and Annabelle thought a moment, putting a dainty finger up to her chin.

"Cards? I'm sure I don't know anything about cards or card playing. The dealer down at the Old Sipping Saloon could help, but..." Annabelle said, and her eyes suddenly widened, as though she sensed something behind her. "Oh no!"

Annabelle vanished in a puff of smoke, and as the smoke cleared, we saw a group of skeletal cowboys armed with revolvers running towards us. "There! It's more o' them pirates! Get 'em! Get 'em all!"

Drawing our guns, I summoned a Valor's Shield to protect us from the electrical bursts fired from their revolvers, and we retaliated with our own salvo. WIth no cover to protect them, the skeletal cowboys were soon just piles of bone and clothing.

"Where'd the lady go?" Bonnie asked as she reloaded her sniper rifle, and Ratbeard answered. "Never mind her! Let's get to the saloon, and quick!"

"The angry dead stand between us and our goal - we must fight them all! Follow me!" El Toro said as he pointed to an angry mob of skeletal corsairs coming towards us with his foil.

Armed with my sword and pistol, I engaged the lead corsair, and sweeping his legs out from under him, I got up and shot him in the skull. The bones shuddered before they finally lay dead upon the floor, and I turned to face my next opponent.

Our swords clanged against each other, and kicking the skeletal corsair in the ribs, I knocked him down onto the ground and stabbed his eye socket, his bones shuddering as they were laid to finally rest.

I couldn't see the others in the confusion, so I hacked and slashed at the nearest skeletons, lopping off bony limbs as I went.

A skeletal corsair near me suddenly stumbled backwards as he collapsed into a pile of bones, and I knew Bonnie had hit her mark. Smoke rose from one of Rena's smoke bombs a few yards away, and I could heard El Toro shout, "FOR JUSTICE!"

Soon, all of the skeletal corsairs were defeated, and we stood exhausted in the middle of the street, catching our breaths. "Come on, there's bound to be a few drinks at the saloon."

We stumbled inside the saloon and helped ourselves to the drinks behind the unmanned bar. In fact, the entire saloon was empty, except for a slender olive-skinned man dressed in a top hat and a suit sitting at a card table in the center of the room, but he didn't seem to notice us.

As I drew closer with a glass of Yum in my hand, the slender man looked up at me with a gaunt face and bulging eyes. "Sorry, stranger, but this table is still occupied - the game's not finished."

He swept his arm over the card table, which was empty except for a hand of cards laid down on one end of the table, which I assumed to be Death's. "Well, how about I finish the game for Captain Blood?"

"You want to finish the game? Very well. You'll need to bring Captain Blood's missing hand of cards back and play them. I know where they are. All of them." The slender man, presumably the dealer said.

"To find the first, head back to the general store at the edge of town, and find Father Ryan. He holds the first card." The dealer said, and I nodded as I placed the glass of Yum on the table. "Here. You've earned it."

Leaving the dealer alone, my trusted associates and I walked through the dusty main street to the general store, where several ghosts were standing inside. Among them, I saw a bespectacled Chicken wearing a priest's robes and a wide-brimmed hat.

"Are you Father Ryan?" I asked, and the bespectacled Chicken nodded. "You... you're a pirate, aren't you? But not one of _them_. I can see the virtue in your heart."

"I don't know what black magic Captain Blood's snared us in, but it's clear his cards are the key. I'll give you the card I found if you help me." Father Ryan said as he brought out a playing card from the sleeve of his robes, and it was a nine of red horseshoes.

"Blood's pirates ripped my prayer book into seven pieces. Without those prayers, I can't give the last rites to these poor souls."

"The pages from my prayer book are scattered all over. Bring them back to me, and I'll give you this card."

I nodded as we turned to leave, and we began searching for the pages to Father Ryan's prayer book. The first few pages were atop the general store's sign, and grabbing the eaves of the porch roof, I pulled myself up and took the pages.

The second part of Father Ryan's prayer book was found by Rena as we searched the bodies of the angry mob we had defeated earlier, and the third was found by Bonnie underneath the steps of a house.

The fourth and fifth parts of the prayer book were found by Emmett and Jack respectively, and the sixth part literally landed on Old Scratch's dreadlocks as it slid down a roof.

Ratbeard found the last part of the prayer book, and we returned to Father Ryan with the prayer book, its binding sewn back together by Rena, who was surprisingly good with a needle.

"You're as good as your word, Pirate, and so am I - here is the card. Now I must pray. May you walk a righteous path." Father Ryan said as he handed me the card, and I put it in the pocket on the inside of my coat.

"There are four more cards to find. Let's get back to the dealer." Bonnie said. We returned to the dealer inside the saloon, who had finished the glass of Yum I left him. "Welcome back, stranger. You ready to play that card?"

"No Captain, wait! You will not play these cards. Captain Blood will." Old Scratch said as he put an arm across my path to stop me.

"We'll see about that. You have one card, time for the next. When El Toro defeated Captain Blood, he buried the pirate in a shallow grave." The dealer said. "Mr. Hockley, one of the mutineers, is waiting near that grave for you. He holds the second card you seek."

As we left the saloon, Bonnie found a trail leading out of town, and we stopped in our tracks as we arrived at Captain Blood's empty grave. Surrounding the grave were broken Clockworks, so the Armada must've gotten a hell of a surprise when they tried to dig up his corpse.

"Who are you?" A voice said behind us, and we turned to see a zombie dressed in a sailor's garb and armed with a cutlass. I held up a hand to stop him. "My name is Matthew Exeter, and these are my trusted associates. What happened here?"

The zombie slowly relaxed, and he introduced himself as Mr. Hockley. "I helped El Toro bury Captain Blood here. Then these... mechanical men set him free! You've got to stop him!"

"Cap'n Blood's cards - I've got one of 'em. I'll give it to you, but there's something needs doing first. When we organized the mutiny, I sent two o' my shipmates to wait in caves with supplies. I never came for 'em, and they died waiting for me."

"I won't have their souls trapped in this vile place. Give their bones a decent burial in the cemetery. I'll give you the card when you've finished."

We left Mr. Hockley to go look for the bones of his shipmates in the caves outside of town, and when we found them, we walked behind the waterfall to the cemetery, where we dug two graves in an isolated part of the cemetery and made wooden crosses to mark them.

"That's done, now let's-" Ratbeard began, but was cut off by another voice. "Well, me hearties, look what we have here! The captain told us to find more mutineers, an' here we find 'em."

The skeletal pirate then looked at the two empty graves we had dug. "What's this you're up to, burying your friends? There'll be no burial for _you_. Get 'em, lads!"

As more skeletal pirates appeared from behind the waterfall, I swung my shovel into the head of their leader, fracturing his skull and killing him. Drawing my sword, my blade passed through the ribcage of another skeletal pirate to slice his spine in half.

From behind the cover of stone gravestones, Bonnie and Emmett fired at the skeletal pirates, picking them off as the rest of us went in for close-quarters combat.

Old Scratch waved his staff, and skeletal hands erupted from the ground to pull the rest of their bodies out to fight the pirates. As one of Old Scratch's skeletons struggled against a pirate, it managed to twist the cutlass out of the pirate's grip before killing him with it.

Ratbeard swept his opponent's legs out from under him, and as he stabbed him, I shouted, "Ratbeard! Behind you!"

It turned out there was no need for my pistol to cover Ratbeard, as Jack grabbed the raised sword arm of the pirate and flipped him onto the ground to kill him with his own cutlass.

"Is anyone else getting the feeling that the rest of the cards aren't going to be easy to get either?" Bonnie called, and the rest of us said nothing as we retrieved our shovels to bury Mr. Hockley's shipmates.

As the last shovelful of dirt went atop the last grave, we heard someone coming and turned to see that it was Mr. Hockley. He nodded in approval as he saw their graves. "You've seen to me mates, and I thank you for it. Here's the card."

Mr. Hockley handed me the playing card, an eight of black swords, and I put it inside my coat along with the nine of red horseshoes.

"Three left. Let's see where the next one is." Bonnie said, and she led the way back to the saloon, where the dealer was waiting for us at the card table.

"Not all the cards ended up in friendly hands. Captain Blood's bosun found one and has kept it close to his dead chest ever since." The dealer said.

"Bosun Bud is hiding in the old mine near town. He's dead set on keeping his card away from anyone except Captain Blood - you'll have to take it."

We nodded as we left, and we soon found the entrance to the bosun's hideout in Miranda's mine. Drawing our weapons, we went inside, avoiding the patrols of skeletal pirates as we went.

Old Scratch stopped as we neared a passageway into another part of the cave. "An evil soul be near, Captain my captain. In the deepest part of this mine, we shall find what we seek."

I nodded, and we passed through to find an abomination that looked like it had been stitched from several corpses standing in the center of the room, flanked by two skeletal crossbowmen.

"What's this, another traitor come to try an' kill our captain? Ha! I'm going to have no end o' fun teaching ye the error of your ways!" The abomination, presumably Bosun Bud said as he hefted his club.

The skeletal crossbowmen raised their crossbows, but Bonnie was quicker, and a second later, they were just piles of bone on the dusty floor of the cave. Bosun Bud looked surprise at the sudden death of his shipmates, and Bonnie unloaded the rest of her ammunition into him.

Roaring with rage, Bosun Bud swung his club wildly at us, and as we kept him distracted by dodging his brutal attacks, El Toro snuck around to the back of Bosun Bud and stabbed behind his knee with his foil.

Bosun Bud fell onto his knees with a cry of pain, and as El Toro pressed the tip of his foil lightly into the bosun's flesh, Bud raised his arms and dropped his club. "Yield! I yield!"

Old Scratch stepped forward to search Bosun Bud, and he soon found the playing card, an eight of black skulls, which he handed to me. "Here be the bosun's card. Let's go find out where the next one be."

As a precautionary measure, we chopped Bosun Bud's club into unusable weapons for his meaty fists, and we returned to the saloon, where the dealer was waiting for us.

"Only two cards remain, strangers. To get the next, you need to find the only living soul in Miranda - besides you and your crew, that is." The dealer said, chuckling a bit.

"A gambler named Pickman wandered into Miranda a while back, drawn by the legend of Blood's cards. He found one - maybe he'll give it to you. Look for him in the old mill. He's close."

We left the saloon to head to the old windmill, its blades long since stopped functioning. As we stepped inside the dusty place, Bonnie's hunter eyes saw something move in the corner. "Pickman, is that you?"

"Stay away! No!" The mustached Chicken said as he waved his arms at us. He wore a red waistcoat over a red-and-white striped shirt, tan trousers, and a black derby hat with a monocle. "Oh wait - you're still breathing, like me! How the blazes did you get here?"

"We came here by ship to look for Captain Blood's cards." I answered, and Pickman shivered. "Captain Blood's cards? They're not worth it, friends! Have you seen the hideous things walking around in this place?"

"I managed to find one card, but then the dead... they trapped me here. There's no way I'll make it to the docks - I'm a goner for sure! Unless... You look a tough sort. If you can clear me a path to the docks, I'll give you the card. What do you say?"

I thought about it for a moment, and then asked, "Rena, how much time do we have left until the _Aquila _leaves?"

"We've still got a little less than half an hour." Rena answered, and I nodded. "Let's be about it then. Follow us."

We headed back to Miranda, where several skeletons had already assembled, and they jeered as they saw us.

"More citizens of Miranda? Give up now, landlubbers - I'll make it painless." A skeleton wearing a three-cornered hat and eyepatch jeered as he drew his cutlass.

"Ha ha! Where do you think you be going to, mates?" Another skeleton wearing a green spotted bandana and a black eyepatch asked as he drew his cutlass.

"Gah!? I thought I told you to leave before sunset! Okay, varmint, draw!" A skeleton wearing a cowboy hat cried as he drew his revolver and aimed it at Pickman.

Pickman screamed like a little girl as the first shot was fired. Rolling my eyes, I fired back at the skeletal cowboy, and he collapsed into a pile of bones. As Pickman hid behind a barrel, my trusted associates and I engaged the skeletons.

"Shall we start?" Rena called to me from behind the skeletal pirate I was facing, and I nodded in agreement. "Let's!"

Slicing our blade through the ribcage of the skeletal pirate at the same time, Rena and I cut his spine into three pieces, killing him.

Bonnie and Emmett had made a sniper's nest inside an empty house, and they fired their guns from the open windows, stunning several of the skeletal pirates.

Old Scratch waved his staff and encased a skeletal pirate's feet in ice, and a mojo blade then appeared in Jack's empty hand. Nodding, Jack spun around and sliced through the spine of the skeletal pirate twice, killing him.

Ratbeard put two hands on his raised cutlass and brought it down hard on the skeletal pirate's head in a brutal strike, and El Toro thrust forward with his foil into the same pirate's eye, killing him. One final pistol shot ended the last skeletal pirate's undead life, and with it, the battle.

"Our virtuous blades drive back the darkness! The way is open - Pickman can escape." El Toro said as he sheathed his foil, and we ran back to the docks and to Pickman's small rowboat.

"Thank you, Captain, you've saved my worthless soul! Here's the card - my advice to you is to get rid of it as soon as you can!" Pickman said gratefully as he handed me the card, an ace of black swords, and I put it inside my coat as he hopped inside his boat to row back home.

We turned back to Main Street to walk back to the saloon, where the dealer was waiting for us at the card table. "You're almost ready, strangers. Only one card left. Captain Blood's last card lies buried under the ashes of a farmhouse not far from here."

"The end of this game's been a long time coming. Good luck, strangers." The dealer said as he nodded, and we left for the farmhouse.

The farmhouse was on the outskirts of Miranda, and it was a charred husk of its former self, with only a few empty red and white paint cans as a clue to its original state. We found spades sticking out from the ashes of the farmhouse, and we began digging.

"Aha! Here, deep under the ashes, it's the card!" Bonnie said as she proudly brought out the card for us to see that it was a sooty ace of black skulls.

"Time to finish Cap'n Blood's game, and for Death to take him due." Old Scratch said, nodding.

"Wait, what's that?" Ratbeard said as he pointed to blue mist seeping out of cracks in the dusty ground, and they took the form of ghostly Chickens and Cranes armed with revolvers and rifles. (Poultrygeists?)

Pirates! You will rue the day you attacked our fair town! Get 'em! Get them all!" Their leader shouted as he aimed his ghostly rifle at us.

"These poor souls should be our friends, but the curse upon this place has blinded them! Deal with them as mercifully as you can." El Toro said sadly as he drew his foil.

Drawing our weapons, the two sides traded gunfire, and I heard Rena cry out in pain as she was hit. "Oh no, Rena!"

Stunning a poultrygeist back into mist with my pistol, I ran over to her and slung her arm over my shoulder to get her out of harm's way behind one of the farmhouse's broken walls.

Reloading my pistol, I fired it and the other three on my person in rapid succession, stunning four poultrygeists into sub-mist-ion, get it?

Bad puns aside, as I reloaded my pistols, their leader aimed at Bonnie with his rifle and she did the same, and a crack of gunfire later, the leader fell onto the ground and dissolved into mist.

Despite their numbers, they were no match for our superior skills, I'm proud to say, but they were persistent, fighting until the last Chicken and Crane fell onto the ground and dissolved into blue mist to finally rest in peace.

Sheathing our weapons, we returned to the card dealer in the Old Sipping Saloon, Captain Blood's cards in my hand.

"There's a card game waiting to be finished here. You've brought the missing cards back to the tables. Are the players here?" The dealer asked, and emerging from the shadow of his chair was Death himself.

"One is. The other will be here directly, I expect. Captain, place Blood's hand upon the table." Death said, and I nodded as I held my hand out to Old Scratch, who had the job of keeping Captain Blood's hand inside his ribcage.

With some difficulty, I forcibly wrapped the fingers of Captain Blood's hand around the five cards, hearing his knuckles crack as I did so, and laid it flat upon the table.

"Time for the showdown." Death said ominously as he gripped his scythe, and suddenly, Captain Blood, along with the rest of his crew, appeared in a flash of black smoke, and he said "Stop! What's this? What's this?"

"Too late, Captain. The cards are played, by your own hand. Two pair: aces and eights." The dealer said. "Death's flush wins. And you, Captain Blood - you lose."

"My hand?" Captain Blood said, snorting. "Cheaters! Thieves! I'm not lost yet - someone still has to kill me. Who's going to do it? This pirate here? This whelp? Ha!"

"This 'whelp' did not come alone." El Toro said as he stepped forward with the others, weapons drawn and at the ready.

"El Toro! Is that you? You look... different." Captain Blood said as he looked closely at El Toro with icy blue eyes.

"If I look bigger, it is only because your evil has shriveled you down to nothing! Today you meet your end! Have at you!" El Toro said as he lunged forward with his foil. As the fighting began, the ghosts of Miranda's townsfolk appeared on the sidelines, cheering us on.

Grabbing empty bottles from the bar, I hurled them at the skulls of two skeletal pirates coming towards me, knocking them out, and vaulting over the counter, I drew my sword to face Captain Blood, who was armed with his cutlass.

As he lunged forward, I sidestepped to avoid his attack and then kicked him into a table, breaking it into pieces. As he shakily stood up, he swiped at me with his hook, which I avoided with a hop backwards before firing my pistol into his face.

To his credit, Captain Blood managed to shake off the burst of electricity and lunge at me for another attack. Grabbing a nearby bottle off a table, I deflected his cutlass off to the side and smashed the bottle onto his head as I kneed him in the face.

Sending him reeling backwards, I lunged forward with my sword, but Captain Blood managed to catch my sword in his hook and send me stumbling into a table.

Groaning as I stood up, Captain Blood loomed over me as he raised his cutlass, and our blades met in a clash of steel. As I struggled against him, I kicked him in the stomach to send him doubling over in pain, and I slammed the hilt of my sword into his head.

Growling, Captain Blood swiped his sword across my stomach, and I cried in pain as blood began trickling from a long horizontal cut. He then punched me hard in the face, and somehow, I managed to stay conscious as I hit the floor.

A second later, Captain Blood was on top of me, and his fingers wrapped around my throat to strangle me to death. Coughing as red started to fill my vision, my hands fell feebly from trying to pry open Captain Blood's fingers, and my left fingers landed upon a knife.

Summoning the last bit of my strength, I grabbed the knife and stabbed Captain Blood through the neck, and I could feel his grip loosening on me as he fell dead to my side.

As I rubbed my neck, I could feel several small bruises from his fingers, and I shuddered at how I was so close to death. Gasping for air, I felt soft hands gently lift me up, and I saw Rena's face smiling down on me, tears dropping onto my face. "I'm glad you're alive, Matt."

I gave Rena a small smile as I weakly reached up to touch her cheek and wipe away her tears. "Yeah, me too."

"Thank goodness all of that's over! Why these egomaniacs continually think they can hoodwink me, I'll never understand." Death said as he came over to me. "Thank you, Captain. Well done! You've done me quite a favor. Off you go then. Don't worry, we'll meet again. Take your time."

Ratbeard cheered as he waved around a golden skeleton key in one hand, and a bottle of Yum in the other. "We did it! We got the key to Blood's treasure! Ha!"

"We've done far more than that." El Toro said as he sheathed his foil, and Death spoke up again. "Do try to tidy up a bit before you go. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a mess. Also, there's someone who wants a word with you."

Death then disappeared in a flash of black smoke, and as it cleared, the ghost of Sabatini, Captain Blood's first mate, stood in Death's place, and he now walked over to me and Rena. "You did it - you set us free. Thank you, stranger."

"Captain Blood is finally no more. His curse is broken, and my spirit is free now to rest in peace. All of Miranda is free. Thank you." Sabatini said gratefully. "You've got the key. Go to the Motherlode Mine, and you'll find Blood's treasure."

"Captain Blood be gone, my Captain, but I an' I sense him evil still remain. On the way to the mine, we must break him ghost ship fleet." Old Scratch said as he walked over to me. I smiled as I closed my eyes. "There'll be time for that later. For now, I just want to rest..."


	8. Chapter 8: Captain Blood's Treasure

**Dead Man's Hand**

**Chapter Eight**

**Captain Blood's Treasure**

As the last of Captain Blood's ghost ships sank beneath the clouds, taking its undead crew with it, I turned my head back to face the bow. "Set sail for Motherlode Mine!"

As the _Aquila _unfurled her sails, we began sailing towards Captain Blood's hideout in Motherlode Mine, in the northern part of Haunted Skyway.

As the _Aquila _dropped anchor and set down the gangplank, my trusted associates and I walked to the entrance of Motherlode Mine, blocked by two large doors with a lock.

Reaching for a pocket on the inside of my coat, I brought out the key and with a loud click, the doors were unlocked.

The doors led into a large ridge overlooking an even larger dockyard, and in that dockyard was a junk, a type of ship from MooShu, made of exotic hardwoods and its sails a golden color. It was perhaps a little smaller than the _Aquila_.

Look at that. It's the _Santo Oro_, the ship Marco Pollo took to El Dorado!" Ratbeard whispered loudly in awe.

"The second piece of the map must be on it somewhere." Bonnie said, and she led the rest of us down the ridge until we stopped in front of a caved-in mineshaft. "Oh bother, the way's blocked! Now what do we do?"

"We could blast our way in. There must be dynamite down here somewhere..." Ratbeard said, and we split up to search, our rendezvous point being the caved-in mineshaft.

Ten minutes later, everyone had found at least one stick of dynamite, and El Toro said, "I spied a mine cart further up the tracks! Quickly! We must put the dynamite in the cart and send it down the tracks!"

Though this raised eyebrows, we nonetheless did as El Toro suggested, and a minute or two later, the fuses were lit as the mine cart began rolling noisily down the tracks. Just in case El Toro's plan didn't work, we had kept three-fourths of the payload in reserve.

"Wouldn't it have been simpler to set the dynamite against the rocks ourselves?" Bonnie asked the question that was in all our minds, and El Toro answered. "Well... perhaps. But it would have had far less dramatic flair!"

We followed the mine cart as it rolled down the tracks, and a second after the mine cart had bumped against the rocks in the mineshaft, the dynamite exploded, sending small chunks of rock flying everywhere.

"You're right, that was more fun!" Bonnie cheered, and El Toro sighed with satisfaction. "Ah. When a plan comes together, it is beautiful, is it not?"

"It is. Now let's be about getting to the _Santo Oro_." I said, nodding. We followed the mineshaft down into the dockyard, and Emmett cheered as we reached the gangplank. "We did it! Captain Blood's treasure is ours!"

"Stop! Stand where you are! You're caught, Pirate - there will be no escape for you this time." A familiar mechanical voice said, sending chills down my spine, and we turned to see Deacon, spymaster of the Armada, flanked by an entire platoon of Armada marines and musketeers.

"You've proved the perfect tool to further my efforts. When I'm finished here, the Armada will control half the map. Kane seems to think you're a grave risk to his plans. I shall be proud to prove him wrong."

I suppose I owe you my thanks, Pirate. In return, I give you my solemn pledge that your end shall be swift and painless. Destroy them!"

"Huh. You don't usually meet such polite bosses." I remarked as the Clockwork marines began marching towards us, covering the musketeers. Drawing my sword and pistol, I led the charge into the battle.

As an Armada marine thrust the point of his halberd towards me, I switched hands and used my sword to deflect it off to the side, and I aimed my pistol with my right hand at his exposed chest.

One pull of the trigger later, the marine fell onto the wooden dockyard, smoking pouring out of the chinks in his armor.

"Take cover!" Emmett shouted from behind me, and a second later, a cannon blast was heard as a cannonball plowed through the ranks of the marines, scattering them.

The two squads of Armada musketeers replied a second later with bursts of electricity fired from their muskets, forcing us to duck behind some barrels, allowing the remaining marines to regroup and resume their march.

"If you're conscious, say aye!" I shouted, and received seven ayes in response. "Where's Bonnie Anne?!"

"I don't know! She disappeared during that last attack!" I heard Rena shout back, and I shook my head as I stood up. "No matter. To battle!"

My trusted associates cheered as they ran into the battle again, and as an Armada musketeer thrust his bayonet towards me, I grabbed his musket by the barrel and tore it out of his gloved clockwork hands.

Slamming the butt of the musket into his white mask, I then took aim at the back of an Armada marine and pulled the trigger, and he hit the dockyard with smoke coming out of the chinks of his armor.

Two marines then seized me by the arms, and as I struggled against them, they forced me down onto my knees, and I could feel Deacon's presence looming behind me. I then heard the sound of a wheel-lock pistol cock, and I glanced behind me to see Deacon aiming at my head.

"Stand down or your captain dies!" Deacon shouted in his mechanical voice, and as much as I struggled, the marines held me even tighter, and Deacon pressed the barrel of his pistol into the back of my head. "Don't move or else..."

I swallowed as I reluctantly stopped struggling and looked down to my knees, and without looking up, I heard Rena shout, "MATT! NO! WHAT'RE YOU DOING!"

Suddenly, there were three loud bangs, and with three mechanical groans from inside the Clockworks around me, they fell onto the floor, smoke pouring out of chinks in their bodies.

Taking advantage of the confusion caused by Bonnie's assassination of Deacon, the others quickly defeated the remaining Clockworks, and we regrouped at the bottom of the gangplank to the _Santo Oro_.

"You have mighty enemies, my friends. Who was that?" El Toro asked, and Rena answered. "Deacon, spymaster of the Armada. He arrested Matt and I while we were on a trading voyage aboard his uncle's ship."

"He was at Boot Hill, too - I think the Duck of Death was working for him. The Armada's a lot closer on our heels than we thought." Bonnie said, and then there was a brief silence.

"Enough o' that - let's search the ship!" Ratbeard interrupted suddenly, and he was the first one to reach the deck of the _Santo Oro_, before anyone else had even stepped foot onto the bottom of the gangplank.

As we went below decks, we soon found something inside the forecastle at the bow of the _Santo Oro_, and Bonnie said, "Those chests there - they must hold Captain Blood's treasure!"

We eagerly opened the three fairly small to find them all full of artifacts, jewelry, and gems, and Ratbeard remarked, "Can't say I'm impressed by the size o' Captain Blood's treasure. Where's all of Marco Pollo's gold?"

"Don't you see? Captain Blood stole Marco Pollo's gold. The name of the ship, _Santo Oro_, means 'holy gold.' The _ship _is Pollo's treasure." El Toro said, and Ratbeard growled in frustration. "What? That isn't fair!"

"It could be worse. Water Moles might've thrown all the gold in a volcano..." Bonnie said, and everyone except El Toro, who wasn't there at Waponi Wu, laughed.

"I ought to..." Ratbeard began, but Rena caught him off. "Anyway, the ship is ours! She's old, but she'll still fly. There are even two Green Windstones!"

"Aha! Here's the second piece of Marco Pollo's map!" Bonnie cried as she brought the piece of the map up for us to see.

"It be Pollo's map for certain - this be the true treasure now be one step closer to El Dorado. But how we find the next piece?" Old Scratch asked, and Bonnie brought out something else.

"There's another thing here, too - a strange picture..." Bonnie said as she held it out for us to see that it depicted Marco Pollo along with his crew.

Marco Pollo was a Chicken dressed in the robes of a Valencian scholar, and with him, I could see Merriweather's father, Christopher Clark, along with a young Catbeard, a Goose, a Bear, a giant in the background, and everyone was wearing gold jewelry.

But what really struck me was the human woman with them. She looked strangely familiar to me, though I didn't know why.

Ratbeard snatched the picture away from Bonnie. "That's a photograph, ye silly girl! Were ye born in a barn?"

"Look at all that gold! This must be Marco Pollo's crew in El Dorado." Jack said, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the photograph more closely. "Hey, wait a minute! I recognize that woman - Captain... that's your mother!"

"Really?! Give me that!" I said as I took the picture from Ratbeard. I could see that she was beautiful with her soft smile. I could see why Dad fell for her. Rena grinned mischeivously as she gently elbowed me. "She looks just like you, Matt! Say, I bet if we grew your hair out..."

"I do not look like a girl!" I protested as Ratbeard looked over my shoulder at my mother, and then he shouted at Jack. "What? The Captain's mother went to El Dorado?! Why didn't ye say something sooner?"

"She never mentioned El Dorado to me. But think about this - the other people in the crew here. I'll bet they'll know where the rest of the map is." Jack said, and Bonnie asked, "But who are they? And where do we find them?"

"That historian back in Cooper's Roost - Argleston. Maybe he knows who they are." Emmett spoke up.

"Well, let's get to it, then!" Bonnie said, and a half hour later, we were ready to sail out of Motherlode Mine aboard the _Santo Oro_.

With Rena at the helm, I aimed the tip of the elongated hexagonal Windstone at the sails of the _Santo Oro_, and as wind filled her sails, the _Santo Oro _sailed out of the dockyard, and as we caught sight of the _Aquila_, Bonnie and Emmett fired a salute with the swivel guns.

The _Aquila _responded in kind, and we raised the signal flags on the mainmast to spell out the message, "Follow us!"

We sailed through Haunted Skyway and Santo Pollo Skyways to reach Cooper's Roost, where my trusted associates and I found the Dog historian, Desmond Argleston sitting down to dinner at the Silver Spur Saloon.

"Ah, we meet again! I hear you made out well in your search for El Toro. Did you find Captain Blood's lair?" Argleston asked. He gestured for us to sit down, and the serving girls brought us our dinners.

I nodded as I began to eat, and Argleston exclaimed, "You did? Astounding! Oh, what a find! The _Santo Oro_, Marco Pollo's second ship, from MooShu. Her name means 'sacred gold.' Interesting."

I showed him the two pieces of Marco Pollo's map we had, and asked, "What can you tell me about the markings on the map?"

"The markings on this map are also from MooShu. Some form of Moodhist mysticism. You'd need to go to MooShu to translate them." Argleston answered, and then I showed him the photograph of Marco Pollo and his crew.

"This photo is fascinating! There's Pollo himself. I don't recognize the others. I'm afraid I'm rather weak at nautical history..." Argleston said sadly.

"Avery might know. Looks like we're headed home to Skull Island." Emmett, who sitting with us, spoke up. After dinner was over, I gathered the crew aboard the _Santo Oro_ for a meeting.

"Gentlemen, I've called you here today to discuss who will be part of the crew of the _Santo Oro_. As first mate, Rena Raden has claim to the captaincy of the _Santo Oro_. Does anyone think someone else is more suitable for the role?" I asked.

The men muttered amongst themselves, shaking their heads. They knew full well that Rena could beat anyone amongst them in a duel, and they knew she was a good leader. I then nodded. "Now that that's settled, who elects themselves to crew the _Santo Oro_?"

Several hands went up, and I nodded again. And so it was decided that we would provision the _Santo Oro_ with more guns and crewmen once we reached Skull Island, and that Jack would take over as first mate aboard the _Aquila_, just as he'd done all those years ago with my father.

As the men trudged off the bed, it was just me and Rena at the railings of the _Santo Oro_, and for the first time in a while, she looked unsure of herself. "Hey Matt, do you really think I'm ready to become a captain?"

I looked at her from the starry night sky of Cooper's Roost. "What're you talking about? Of course you are. Everyone else thinks so too."

Rena gave me a nervous smile that was also kind of cute, and she nodded as she turned to the door to her captain's quarters. "Thank you, Matt. Good night, now."

"You're welcome. You have a good night, too." I said, nodding as she left. Heading back to my own quarters aboard the _Aquila_, I laid down on my bed, smiling as I began dreaming of my mother and her warm smile.


End file.
